The Girl Is Black
by eena-angel2001
Summary: Fudge and the Ministry sink to a new low in their attempt to capture Sirius Black . . . BTVSHP
1. Default Chapter

Title: The Girl Is Black

Author: eenaangel2001

Email: R

Category: BTVS/HP

Pairings: Willow/Oliver Wood, Xander/Katie Bell, Cordelia?

Disclaimer: BTVS belongs to Whedon and HP to Rowlings.

Summary: Fudge and the Ministry sink to a new low in their attempt to capture Sirius Black . . .

Spoilers: S3 for BTVS, GoF for HP and some OotP as well. Head to the Notes for a better explanation.

Notes: All right, I should warn you all that this is going to be very AU for the HP world. I'm ignoring the bulk of the stuff that happens in OotP, and taking a few random things from it. Don't expect to find many of the new characters initially, because I want to finish the book entirely before I bring them in. But they will be brought in at some point. As for the beginning of this story, it takes place after the S3 finale for BTVS and the summer after GoF for HP. Also, no Willow/Oz relationship for this story.

Prologue:

They had won.

It was an exciting feeling. Kind of above her head if you really wanted to know. She knew on some level that they had in fact won and that the majority of her classmates had made it out alive. But it hadn't quite penetrated with her just yet. Her mind was trying to tell her wound up body that it was okay to relax but her body stubbornly insisted on remaining on edge. She was prepared to fight even now, even though the battle was over.

It that mean that the battle might not yet be over?

God she hoped not. Standing where she was, not twenty feet away from the lawns of her former high school, watching as the buildings burned to the ground while firefighters and rescue workers raced about trying to salvage any part of the school, she knew that she was in no way prepared for another fight. Yes, her body was still tense, as if waiting for the next surprise attack, but her mind was far from ready.

The actual truth of the matter was that she was mentally exhausted by what she had been through in these last few days. The end of high school and the thrill of graduating had been shoved to the backburner to accomodate the mind-numbing fear the idea of the Ascension had brought. Days of biting her lip and twisting her hands while waiting for something, anything to happen that would give them some sort of edge against the Mayor. And all they had to show for those days was a mortally wounded vampire with a soul and a frantic Slayer. Things certainly hadn't improved when Angel had called her to tell her that Buffy was in the hospital the day before she would have to fight against Mayor Wilkins.

But of course, her worrying had been somewhat in vain. Buffy had pulled through, like she always did, and she had come up with the most wild, destructive way of smacking the demon Mayor down. And her plan worked, the graduating class and the rest of Sunnydale more or less in one piece while the Mayor . . . well, he was in pieces, scattered about the burning grounds of the school.

The slightest touch on her back made her jump about a foot in the air. Immediately her body reacted, feet spinning her around while her other hand searched widely for the stake she had hidden in the pocket of her robes. Wild green eyes met tired and concerned brown ones, a thin smile stretching across the face of her best friend.

"Geez Wills," he clucked his tongue. "You really need to calm down. You're going to give yourself a heart attack."

She felt a smile tugging on the corners of her mouth, unwilling to let the ease her mind cried for wash over her completely. Willow merely folded her arms across her chest, turning back to face the burning school but this time leaning against the solid chest of her best friend.

"We blew up the school," she finally replied, her voice very matter-of-fact. "How can you expect me to be calm?"

"Because it's over now?" Xander suggested lightly, slinging one arm around her shoulders to give her a slight hug from behind. The taller youth sighed, resting his chin on the top of her head as they watched the school burn.

"I really hated that school," he murmured suddenly. It seemed utterly ridiculous for him to say that, though she didn't know why. Xander was always saying stuff like that, it was part of who he was. But for some reason, the statement caught her off guard and she let out a batch of giggles.

"I heard that," he teased her when she tried to stifle her mirth. "Come on Wills, just relax a bit. The battle's over. We stopped the Ascension, Buffy killed the Mayor, and I got to be key guy for once. All's well that ends well."

"But has it ended?" she murmured softly, turning her head to look up at her best friend. "Or maybe it's just me. I can't seem to calm myself down. It's like I'm expecting another fight to start any second now."

"Just the adrenalin refusing to wear off," he assured her, placing his hands on her shoulders and turning her away from the site of the school. He pointed off into the distance, Willow following his direction to see Buffy sitting on a bench, watching idly as the firefighters tried to stop the fire. Cordelia was in the background, the brunette biting her lip in consernation as she tried to find some sort of reflective surface so she could fix her hair.

"Let's got sit with our buds and watch as the hellhole that tried to kill us for the past three years is burnt to the ground."

Willow knew she was smiling at this point, there was no way around it. Xander always knew what to do in order to cheer her up. It was one of the things that made him such a good best friend.

She followed his lead, allowing him to direct her to her other best friend. Buffy looked up at their arrival, flashing the redhead a wane smile as Willow sat down next to her.

"He's gone," the blonde whispered. Willow gave her friend a sympathetic smile before putting her arms around her in a tight hug. There was no need for Buffy to elaborate, Willow knew what she meant. Angel was gone. He said before that he would leave after this was finished and the vampire stayed true to his word.

Buffy leaned back into her friend's arm, resting her head on Willow's shoulder as her eyes wandered back to the fire. Behind them, Cordelia and Xander could be heard making some snarky comments to each other, but with warmth in their tones as they did it. Willow briefly heard Cordy explain that Giles had followed Wesley to the hospital to keep an eye on him.

"Buffy?" the redhead asked her friend softly.

"Hmm?" the Slayer replied, her eyes still on the fire.

"Is it over?" Willow asked hesitantly. Buffy frowned, turning her face up to look at her friend.

"The battle's over," the blonde clarified. "Why do you ask?"

"It doesn't feel like its over," Willow muttered. "It doesn't feel like the danger has passed."

Buffy looked hard at her best friend, her face eventually softening.

"I think its high-time that we all went home," the Slayer announced, shooting a look to Cordy and Xander behind her. "How about a We-Blew-Up-The-High-School sleepover? My house?"

"Well, it is the closest," Cordy assented.

"And Joyce filled up the cabinets in case we had the munchies after saving the world," Xander chimed in enthusiastically. Buffy grinned at him, turning back to Willow.

"How about it Wills?" Buffy asked. "Let's get you inside and away from this place. Maybe you'll feel better then."

Willow gave a half-hearted smile before nodding, letting Buffy pull her to her feet and lead her away from the school. Buffy kept an arm locked around her waist and Xander moved up beside the redhead to place an arm around her shoulders as they walked. Cordelia completed the quartet, allowing Xander to hold her hand as they wandered away from the smoldering ruins of Sunnydale High.

It wasn't that far from Buffy's home when the Slayer had heard the initial noise. It had sounded like a faint kind of popping noise, causing the blonde to falter in her step. This in turned stopped the other three, Willow immediately pulling out a stake as Buffy looked around them suspiciously.

"Vamps?" Xander asked, pulling a stake out of his pant leg. Buffy shrugged, turning around in a circle, her eyes focused on the dark shadows of the street. Cordelia began to hum nervously, a stake in one hand and a cross in the other. Willow moved up next to the girl, placing a reassuring hand on her left arm.

"I know you're out there, so just come on out already!" Buffy called out, her voice ringing in the dead silence of the night. Nothing, not a thing. Willow licked her dry lips, her eyes also trained on the shadows around them. The next popping noise that came was heard by all four of them and immediately weapons were raised and the Slayer on alert. The popping noise happened again, and then again, until there was a tiny chorus of them.

"Show yourself!" Buffy demanded of the intruders. Footsteps answered her call and Willow watched in amazement as a legion of people emerged from the shadows of the street.

"Why are men in dresses pointing thin stakes at us?" Cordelia asked Willow. The redhead shrugged, uncertain as to what they should do. Buffy looked hard at the arrivals, her face a mask of confusion.

"You're not demons," the Slayer announced.

"We're not," came the agreement, from a British voice. A small, slightly round man came into view. He was a shifty character, his greying hair pushed under a small bowler hat as he levelled a shaky wand at the four friends.

"But we have business with her tonight," the man continued. Willow felt herself arch an eyebrow. The man had been referring to her.

"Well, that's too bad isn't it?" Buffy snorted, stepping in front of Willow. "Because she's my best friend and you're not doing any sort of business with her."

"Way to tell 'em Buffy," Xander encouraged his fair friend. The man's eyes narrowed and Willow thought she saw them fill with fiery indignation. He made some sort of signal at the others, saw them comply by marching forward.

"I am Cornelius Fudge!" the man declared, his stick still pointed Willow's way. "And by the authority of the Ministry of Magic, I am putting that witch under detainment!"

"What the hell is he talking about?" Xander demanded.

"More like what is he on?" Cordelia snickered. "'Cause I'm thinking its seriously potent. Is he actually threatening Buffy with that stick?"

"This isn't good," Willow murmured to Buffy. The blonde tossed a smile at her friend before lashing out quickly, knocking down the closest two of the intruders.

"Authorize that!" the Slayer sneered at Fudge. Willow felt her eyes go wide as the man began screeching. She tried to warn Buffy, but it was too late. A chorus of voices broke out, weird Latin phrases being hurled their way. Willow winced, trying to pull Buffy back away from the strangers, but in vain.

A bright flash erupted in the middle of that street and Willow could think no more.

0/0/0/0


	2. Abandon All Hope

Part One-Abandon All Hope . . .

She wasn't prepared for what was inside.

Cordelia thought that she could handle it. She was a tough girl, a bitch if you asked some people. Things didn't get to her as often as they did to other people. Xander once said that it was because she had no heart in her chest, though he didn't say stuff like that anymore. But that wasn't the case with her. She had a perfectly good heart in her chest, and a very sound mind in her head despite what other people said. But there were times when she felt like she had ice water in her veins, to be able to wade through some of the horrible things she had seen, and done.

But it was all a lie.

She knew that the minute she was driven up to that cold, grey building. She knew the second the door was opened for her and she stepped out into the sunlight, she knew that she was in no way ready for what was about to come. She had seen countless horrors on the Hellmouth, mostly due to her reluctant friendship with Buffy and her gang, but this.

This was beyond even her.

For a brief second, she debated getting back into the car and ordering the driver to take her away from here. The building was just too horrible to look at, even from the outside. There was nothing all too significant about its appearance, but she could feel the atmosphere from where she was. There was some sort of line, a quote from somewhere that perfectly described this.

Abandon hope all ye who enter here.

That summed up this place very nicely. It was a place that worked to suck the hope and humanity out of people. It would take your warmth and replace it with the icy cold of separation and despair. She could feel that dark presence from just standing outside. This place worked to suck the life out of people and she wanted no part of it.

But still, she made her feet move forward. Step by step, she wandered closer and closer to the doors. Her heart was beating wildly in her chest, her mind screaming for her to get the hell away from this place. But she couldn't do it. Even though it would probably be the safest thing for her to do, she couldn't make herself turn away from the place. Her mind was telling her to leave, but her heart and her gut would not let her go until she had finished the task Giles had sent her to do.

"All right then?"

She nodded, not even bothering to look up at her escort. That in itself was very weird, considering her escort was a seriously hot nineteen-year-old Irish boy with an accent that could curl a girl's toes. And Cordelia Chase was not one to let a hottie just slip through her fingers. Any other time she would have been all over the guy, running her hands over his lean, muscular form. She would be running her hand through his light brown hair, doing just about anything to make the guy fall head over heels for her.

But she couldn't do it. Not today, not now. Not with Buffy waiting back in Sunnydale, ordered not to move from the Hellmouth by Giles himself. Not with Xander locked up in Giles's house in London, under the strict watch of some members of the Watchers' Council. Not with Giles working with Quentin Travers himself as they both worked everyone into a frenzy over what had happened when Graduation was over. Not with Willow missing, taken away from her friends by a group of men in dresses who had been pointing thin sticks at them.

Not with what she had been sent here to do today.

She waited patiently as the door was opened for her. Her escort was talking to the man up front, a guard of some sort no doubt. She stood calmly beside her escort, the sweet boy named Oliver who seemed genuinely concerned for her and her friends. His concern was just enough for her to forget that he worked with those men in dresses who had taken Willow. Though it was not enough for Xander, who attacked just about any of these wizard people that he saw. Hence the reason for him being under house arrest by order of Giles and therefore electing her to be the one to see this done.

She would have been slightly angry about it if she cared to be. This experience was not going to be any fun for her, or those involved. She knew it, felt it right down in the centre of her being. Whatever she would see beyond these doors would stay with her until the end of her days.

Oliver was offering her his arm now. She took it without a word, allowing him to guide her into the building. Her anxiety went soaring the second she stepped through the doorway. Even being outside, clutching her coat to her body as she shivered in the cold English weather, even that was better than being in here.

But still she pushed on, her head held high as ever. She heard murmurs coming from all around her, but she ignored them. It wouldn't do for her to acknowledge them; to look for the source of those muttered words. She might have hysterics if she looked too closely at the condition of the inhabitants of this place. Giles had warned her as much, telling her to keep her mind focused on two things: Willow and getting the hell out of this God-forsaken place. Those were her goals, the only things she had to think about. Nothing else would penetrate; she wouldn't let anything else penetrate. Her job here was fairly cut and dry. Get in and then get the hell out.

Oliver squeezed her arm in a comfortingly manner and she managed a small smile for the man. He wasn't much older than her, not even a year, but still he seemed almost too young for her. His eyes hadn't seen the things she had. She was pretty sure his eyes hadn't seen the things inside this place before either. He kept getting horrified and then sombre looks on his face as they walked down the hall. He seemed so innocent, this boy named Oliver Wood. She wondered briefly how he had ended up working for the men in dresses. Those guys didn't seem to be the nicest people around, and Oliver was just a little sweetheart. He just didn't seem to fit with them.

Cordelia sighed, looking down from his face to watch her feet as she was led further into the building. Her shoes were black, in fact, she was dressed pretty much all in black. Black jeans, a black tank top, and covered by a black and white sweater. Her jacket was a very dark grey, an almost black colour, and hell, even her socks were black. It was like she was in mourning, but she knew that it wasn't true. She just didn't feel like colours today. She couldn't imagine herself wandering into this place, wearing one of her light blue dresses and shiny blue high heels. It didn't seem appropriate; this wasn't the place for cheer. She knew that deep down inside.

This was a place of despair.

The murmurs had faded away; as if the inhabitants no longer seemed to care that she was there. There was silence in that hallway, the only sounds being her and Oliver's steps as they marched ever more steadily to the end of the hallway. She figured that was their goal, judging by the way Oliver seemed to be watching it very closely. Every now and then he quickened his pace, just a bit, tugging on her arm to get her to hurry. She complied, knowing exactly how he felt. She wanted out of here too. In fact, she hadn't wanted to be in here period. But she had a job to do, and for her friends, she would do it.

Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, they finally reached their destination. She stepped back from Oliver, watching as he withdrew a key from the folds of his robes. Fear starting creeping up her spine as she tried to peer into the dark corners of the room in front of her, seeing nothing really at all. Cordelia began to tap her foot nervously, eyes wandering down the hall. She wondered if she could do this, she wondered if she had the strength.

But maybe it wasn't about strength. Buffy was the strongest person Cordelia had ever met, and the brunette knew without asking that the Slayer would not have been able to do this. Buffy wouldn't have been able to handle any of this, and that's why Giles ordered her to remain behind on the Hellmouth. Cordelia briefly felt sorry for any demon that dared to stick around that town after Willow was taken. Buffy was handling her worry the best and only way a Slayer knew how: slaying. Buffy was tearing up the town, taking out her frustrations on whatever creature she could find.

And she wasn't even slaying anymore. Not so much as she was pounding her prey into a bloody mess, often taking about twenty minutes to beat the crap out of a fledging before finally just staking the vampire. Joyce had told Cordelia all this the last time she had called. Mrs Summers was worried for both her daughter and Willow, but not sure what she should do to help. And the sad thing was, there was nothing much Joyce could do to help. This entire fiasco, it was shocking to learn that it had absolutely nothing to do with Buffy, or even with Willow.

And yet they were all in the middle of it now.

The door had finally been unlocked. Oliver pushed it open, wincing softly as the hinges creaked loudly. Cordelia swallowed the lump in her throat, standing there for a second before she lowered her head and walked through the door.

The room wasn't very big. There was a small cot on the side, a water fountain just ahead of it. It was dark and dreary, not even a window to let the sunshine in. Cordelia stopped in her tracks, looking closely around the room, trying to sight her target.

And there she was, huddled in the corner of the room. In the darkest of the corners, the girl sat shaking with her knees drawn up to her chest. Cordelia looked at the girl, dumbfounded for one second. In shock, her feet managed to carry her across the room to stand in front of the girl. Sinking to her knees, the brunette reached out with a tentative hand, grasping the girl's shoulder and giving it a gentle shake.

Wide, unfocused green eyes met hers. Cordelia felt like crying when she looked into Willow's face. Her lovely red hair was not stringy, hanging in front of her face in clumps. Her pale face was smudged here and there with dirt; her lips were chapped and bloodied, like she had bitten them to bleeding several times before. Willow's hands shook and she tried to cower away from the brunette, but Cordelia persisted.

"It's okay Willow," she managed to make herself say, trying to coax the girl out of the corner. "It's okay now. We're getting you out of here."

"Not real," Willow muttered in reply, her tone flat and desolate. "It's a trick, just like before. You're not here. My mind is making it up, giving me false hope."

"If your mind wanted to give you false hope, why would it make me appear?" Cordelia demanded shortly. "Wouldn't it make more sense to imagine Xander? Or better yet, Buffy? Come on Willow. No way could your conscious or subconscious mind ever conceive of me coming to your rescue."

Her words made the redhead pause and Willow lifted her head once more. Cordelia swore softly when she saw the tears of pain and horror pooling in those green eyes.

"Is it really you?" Willow whispered, her voice breaking. Cordelia nodded soundlessly, not trusting herself to speak. Willow let out a strangled sob, unexpectedly throwing herself into Cordelia's arms. The redhead began bawling, her words incoherent. Cordelia could do nothing but give the girl a hug, hand smoothing some of the hair away from her forehead. She turned her head to the doorway, beckoning Oliver with her eyes. He nodded and stepped forward, pulling the sniffling redhead out of her arms.

Cordelia watched as Oliver easily lifted Willow in his own arms, motioning with his head for Cordelia to lead the way out. The brunette did so gladly, falling into step with Oliver as they walked back down the way they came. She kept a hold on one of Willow's hands, occasionally muttering soothing words to the shaken redhead. She tried hard not to look too closely at Willow's condition, the bloodstains and dirt marks covering the remaining rags of her clothes and graduation robe. It made her angry to think someone had done this to the sweet girl, to have obviously just chucked her into that small room and proceeded to torment her with fear and pain.

A growl escaped her lips as she thought about it. She quickened her pace, practically pulling Oliver the few steps out of the building. She steered him to the car, opening the door and watching as he placed Willow carefully on the backseat. Cordelia slid in after the girl, pulling the redhead up and into her embrace. Willow clung to the brunette gratefully, still crying her eyes out.

"Get us out of here!" Cordelia snapped, tossing an angry look out her window to the imposing grey building they had just left. Oliver gave a brisk nod and was soon sliding into the drivers' seat. Cordelia felt her heart pick up as the engine started and they began to pull away.

"You came to get me," Willow sobbed brokenly.

"Just sleep Willow," Cordelia hushed the girl. "Just sleep. Giles will explain everything later."

The redhead nodded gratefully, resting her head on Cordelia's shoulder. The brunette patted her on the back, eyes staring straight out the front window. She refused to look back, to let Willow look back. If she had her way, the redhead would never come back to this place, never had to remember it again. The assholes that had done this to her friend were going to pay; they were going to pay dearly. She was going to see them burn for this, she vowed silently. They were going to end up in that place they had stuck Willow. She would see to it that they felt every bit of fear and pain that the redhead had felt.

She would see those bastards throw into that prison, that Azkaban if it was the last thing she ever did.


	3. Siriusly His Fault

Part Two-Sirius-ly His Fault.

Maybe she had dreamed it all.

The fear, the pain, the raw emotion of it all. Maybe it had been nothing more than some sort of waking nightmare. She could have sworn at the time that it was all real. She could have sworn everything she saw and experienced was real-but then it was all ripped away.

And Cordelia? How could it be that Cordelia would come to rescue her? Though significantly less self-involved than she had been in the past, Cordelia still didn't seem like the most likely candidate for a heroine. It would have made more sense for Buffy to be there, or even Angel. But Cordelia?

And that was what made her think that it wasn't just a dream. There was no way her mind to stick Cordelia into the role of her saviour, not in a million years. Xander had always been her fantasy white knight, and after sophomore year of high school, reality took over and Buffy was her saving grace. Had she been dreaming any of it, it would have been her blonde friend coming to her rescue. Of course, if it had been Buffy to the rescuing, there probably would have been more violence involved. The Slayer would have laid waste to those hooded creatures that had surrounded the redhead more than once since she had been taken from Sunnydale. Buffy would have wiped the cold, stone floor with those boys and then proceeded to beat the crap of the men with sticks. 

But there had been no violence. There hadn't even been any light cursing. The only thing that had happened was that Cordelia had shown up and suddenly Willow was being carried to safety.

She guessed it hadn't been a dream after all. She had been through all that, seen all those things. Those horrid cloaked figures, the ones that hissed and brought bad hallucinations to people. She remembered those visions, the pain and misery of them. She couldn't count how many times she saw Jesse die, seen Jenny's body lying cold in her coffin. All those horrible things she had seen on the Hellmouth had come roaring to the front, flooding her mind with the grisly images of things better left forgotten.

But the absolute worst had to be the visions of Spike. That day, when he had taken both her and Xander, locking them up in the remains of the old factory, that day she had replayed in her mind over and over again. That same paralyzing fear she felt when she saw Spike standing over Xander's prone form. The terror of having to sit and wait on the drunken monster, fighting not to flinch as he buried his demon face into her neck. It had to have been the most terrifying night of her entire existence, and that was saying a lot.

And she knew that it was those things in dark cloaks doing it to her. She could practically feel the dark magicks rolling off their bodies, knowing before they even approached that something bad was going to happen.

They came so often that Willow just began to lose track of time. It was like the present time faded away and she was just stuck in the horrible memories of the past three years. She couldn't move past it, not once. And soon, she gave up trying to. There was no point, she admitted defeat after watching Jesse die for the twentieth time. She just couldn't handle it anymore.

But then poof! There she was, Cordelia in all her shining glory. The brunette even found time to be a bit snarky, but Willow could feel her concern underneath it all. The redhead knew she would forever be in debt to the ex-cheerleader, not for just getting her out of that place, but for taking such good care of her after. Willow only remembered bits and pieces of the car ride, but knew that Cordelia held her the entire time she cried.

She had fallen asleep in the car, not sure where she was whenever she awoke. All she knew was that when she opened her eyes, she could hear lots of people murmuring before someone tried to shove chocolate down her throat. She thought it was remarkably odd that at a time like this, when she was obviously sick, people were trying to feed her an entire lifetime's supply of chocolate.

A hand brushed against her side. Willow groaned and turned away from it, straining to get the hand to release her.

"No more chocolate," the redhead moaned. Willow turned in her sleep, finding a solid warm body there. She snuggled up against it almost unconsciously, pausing only when she fully realized what this meant.

There was a man in her bed.

She opened her eyes cautiously, fearful of what she might find. Relief flooded her almost instantly as she took in the features of her best friend. Xander was fast asleep, dark hair flung over his forehead as he snored softly. Willow allowed herself to just look at him, marvelling at how innocent her best friend could look while he slept.

"He's been sleeping more than you," mused a voice from behind her. Willow frowned, recognizing the voice immediately and shifting around so she could look at her visitor. Cordelia smiled down at the redhead. The brunette gave her shoulder a quick pat before leaning back in her chair.

"Cordelia," Willow shook her head, looking more closely at the former cheerleader. "You look terrible."

Willow felt like smacking herself when she said that, wincing apologetically the second the words had left her mouth. She was very surprised when Cordelia only gave her a tired smile in response, folding her arms across her chest while stifling a yawn.

"Yeah well, someone has to watch over you," the brunette shrugged. "Especially since Xander can't be counted on to keep his eyes open for even an hour. Either way, you so owe me when this is all over."

"What is all this?" Willow asked next, her voice low and fearful. The redhead looked around herself, noticing for the first time that she was in a very strange room. It was quite nice, the bed she was laying on a big four poster one with large warm quilts piled everywhere. Lamps lit up the room here and there, as well as the small fire roaring in the fireplace off to the left side of the room. It was decorated entirely in rich gold and red colours, giving it a very lively appearance.

It would have been comforting had Willow known how she had gotten here.

"Where are we?"

"Well, technically, it's like this really big boarding school for magic-users," Cordelia replied flippantly. "In reality, it's a huge, kind of creepy castle in the middle of Scotland somewhere. Giles sent us here; he said we would be safe."

"Safe from what?"

"The men in dresses," the brunette reminded her. "You know, the ones with a taste for kidnapping and unlawful confinement. By the way Willow, you should see the snit everyone is making about what happened to you. Giles even got the Watchers' Council on his side and the whole bunch of them are raising hell. It's kind of funny, you know, if you forget about the part where you were abducted and tossed into an unholy prison for no reason whatsoever."

"Okay," Willow shook her head. "I feel a migraine coming on."

"Well, I'm about three ahead of you in that department," Cordelia grinned, rubbing her eyes in a tired fashion. "Any more room on that bed? You seem to be all nice and recovered now, maybe I can catch some Zs."

Willow nodded, scooting over to make room for the brunette. She had to push Xander back, quite roughly, though the boy didn't notice. He only grumbled in his sleep, slinging an arm around the surprised redhead and pinning her to the bed next to him. Cordelia giggled at the sight, scrambling under the covers before winking at Willow.

"He hasn't let you leave him side for days," she confided in the redhead. "That's why you're both in the same bed. He wouldn't even sleep in a separate room from you. He was really freaking out there for a while. I've only now just managed to get him to stop trying to beat up everyone that crosses his path. For his own health, because you know he'd probably get his ass kicked."

"Well, that's usually why Buffy fights most of his fights for him," Willow giggled. "Speaking of which, where is Buffy? Is she okay? Did everything turn out all right?"

"Everything's fine," Cordelia assured her with a yawn. "Buffy's in Sunnydale, because Giles said she couldn't leave it unprotected for long. Mrs Summers calls every now and then to tell us how she's been taking out her frustrations on the demon population."

"Can't believe I'm saying this, but poor demons," Willow clucked her tongue sympathetically. Cordelia nodded again, shutting her eyes briefly.

"Anyway, I'm getting some sleep," the brunette announced. "Now that you're all right, Giles is probably going to show up soon and pull us into his whole protest thing."

"Who's he protesting?" Willow asked innocently.

"The Ministry of Magic."

"There's a Ministry of Magic?"

"Hey, this is a school for witches and stuff," Cordelia reminded her. "You shouldn't be all that surprised. But maybe you should be kind of indignant. I mean, why didn't anyone think to ask you to attend this kind of school? You do pull off some major magic when you feel like it."

"Schools for magic," Willow murmured. "Sounds oddly familiar."

"Who cares?" Cordelia whined. "Let's just rest for now."

"One more thing," Willow vowed. "Why was I thrown into that place?"

Cordelia's face darkened and she opened her eyes. Willow was momentarily surprised by the level of outrage and anger she saw there. Fiery brown eyes caught hers and Cordelia made a disgusted face.

"They won't explain properly," the brunette growled. "Everyone's just saying you got put in jail because it's serious."

"Huh?"

"That Fudge guy, the one with the stupid hat? Everyone says he's after you because of serious, which doesn't make much sense. Think it's some kind of weird slang?"

"Not slang," Willow replied, her voice faint and her gaze hardening. The redhead set her mouth in a thin line, sending a dark glare up to the ceiling.

"Five bucks says I got stuck in jail because of Sirius Black."

"What's seriously black?" Cordelia asked, fighting off yet another yawn. Willow scowled, snuggling up closer to Xander before she replied, her tone hard and angry.

"Not what, who."

"Fine then," Cordelia rolled her eyes. "Who is Sirius Black?"

"He's my father."


End file.
